Frappé
by hislips
Summary: Just because she met him with a slapped mark on his cheek and some Frappé thrown at his face, doesn't mean she will not fall in love with him any harder. Love is like coffee, bitter, strong, sweet and tasted wonderful everyday, anytime.
1. Chapter 1: Bad Impressions

_This is my first RK fic and I've been so inspired with some of the authors here. So I think that I can write something too. If I can pull this one, I'm sure that I will consider myself to write another one... Possibly from the original timeline, after the Jinchu arc. But it is too early to talk about that so let's focus on this one neh? If you love romance with humor and a bit of drama, here's the one for you! Hope you'll like it... :)_

_I do not own Rurouni Kenshin and I am not making money from this fic, so please let me and don't sue. :)_

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It was official. This day was boring and Kamiya Kaoru couldn't help but grimace at the third frappe in her hands. It had been two hours since her ever-so-busy boyfriend called and told her that he couldn't come to their date. If it had not been happening for the last six months, she would've been devastated but since it was, the only thing that she minded was that she had no idea where or how she would spend her time.

It was Saturday, which meant no work and a lot of free hours but it looked like that she had no other choice but to take her time sitting in her favorite coffee shop, Akabeko.

Megumi, her roommate and best friend, was busy tutoring medical students for extra income, so shopping or chatting with her was out. She had no one else to call, and was stuck by herself. This wouldn't be happening if not for her busy boyfriend could make time to save fer from this boring day.

"Can this day get any more boring? And it's only eleven o'clock…" she murmured to herself with a sigh.

"If only there were some attractive guys or fun event around here…" she continued muttering to herself while scanning the place, hoping to see something interesting.

Then it was like the Kami had taken pity on her and granted her wish when a gorgeous lady in a small fitted red dress came in the front door and walked towards the counter.

Kaoru couldn't help but to admire at the confidence that this lady exudes. _High Class… _she thought. She had her wine colored hair pinned up on her head with a few strands dangling in the around her ears, creating a very sexy effect. She had pale white skin, and dark purple eyes. Her lips were full with red shade of lipstick. Kaoru, along with the other customers, couldn't help but to stare at this beautiful woman.

She watched as she strode smoothly across the floor and stopped when she was in front of the counter. For a minute, Kaoru wondered what a high class looking lady was doing in a coffee shop like this. Not that she thought the place was cheap! It was more on down to earth and warm, a place that have a comfortable ambiance and certainly, that woman is not down to earth and warm.

Her musing was cut off when the woman talked, with broken voice, to the man on the other side of the counter.

"Why didn't you call me last night?" Kaoru heard the woman say. The woman was talking to one of the shop servers.

_Wow… A service crew hooked up with woman like her? And that's not all! She was practically asking for his attention… He must be something… _Kaoru thought.

Because she was intrigued with the man, she tried to take a look at the man's face. Kaoru had craned her neck as much as possible just to take a peek at his face but because of the positioning of her seat, all she could see was the side of his face that to her much expectation, was covered with thick red mane.

Well, he had long, beautiful red hair.

"Yumi… I told you… I am not interested…" she heard the man say in a smooth, gentle voice.

"But you said that I am pretty! That I am fun to be with and any guy I like will be lucky to have me as her woman!" the beautiful woman retaliated not so beautifully.

Kaoru saw the man sigh and run his fingers through his red bangs. For a moment there, Kaoru had the chance to peek at his face and she swore that she saw the most stunning amethyst eyes. She might have gotten a better look if not only for the red mane flowing back to cover his eyes from her view.

"You even gave me flowers and chocolates! You even kissed me! And I know that if your buddy didn't call you last night, I swear you would be in my bed! Asleep and naked!" the woman named Yumi said loudly.

Kaoru was stunned for a second. She looked around to see if other people heard what this Yumi was referring to. Luckily, or lucky for the guy, it seems like no one was paying attention to the drama that was unfolding.

Kaoru was the only one watching. She grinned and waited for the show to proceed.

"Look Yumi…" the red head whispered and slightly bending his torso so he could be sure that only the Yumi woman will only hear it. But Kaoru's position was by far the best seat she had taken for years in coming at this coffee shop because she could clearly hear what the red head guy was saying.

"I liked you okay? But not to the extent that you should expect that I will call you… What do you expect anyway? Ask you to be my girlfriend? You're beautiful Yumi, really… But despite it, you are not my type…"

Both Kaoru and Yumi gaped at the straight forwardness of this man.

"_Bastard…" _Kaoru thought but she can't help but to grin at the sight of a beautiful lady getting dumped by a coffee shop service crew.

She can clearly see Yumi's face getting red with anger. On the other hand, the guy picked up a glass and started to wipe it.

Kaoru waited for another response and she wasn't disappointed because what happened next was by far the most interesting.

Yumi slapped the red head guy _hard_ on the face before walking out and strode to the door.

Kaoru was left stunned. _Wow…_ she thought. She didn't know that asking for some interesting event would lead to this.

She watched the guy grunt as he touched his reddened cheek and she silently giggled.

No more than five minutes later, another beautiful lady entered the coffee shop and headed to the counter. Again, her target was the red head guy.

The woman has brown hair that elegantly flowed down her back. She had sparkling eyes that had a color of mixed moss green and gray. She had pink lips that went well with her slightly tanned skin and was wearing a white flowing dress with pink bolero and knee high dark brown boots.

Kaoru gaped at the pretty face of this girl, but unlike the woman named Yumi, this one had an angelic features.

She watched once again as she approached the guy. The red head guy did nothing other than sigh.

The angelic girl frowned and her lips quivered. Kaoru can tell that she was about to cry.

"Sayo…" the red head guy murmured as if he was helpless, as if he was _so _tired of this.

Kaoru smirked. She didn't know the entire story yet but this guy was for sure is what they called… a playboy.

"Why didn't you call me for the last two days?" the girl named Sayo whined as she wiped some tears with her hanky.

"_Well it's because she was hooking up with the woman named Yumi…" _she thought while grinning at them. She thought the show was over but it was getting more and more interesting.

The red head guy sighed as if there was something heavy weighing on his chest.

"Sayo… I thought I already told you that I don't commit…" he said as he put plastic cap over a tall sized frappe.

"I know! But you made me feel different!" Sayo retorted and this time, she didn't have the time to wipe her tears.

"_Looks to me that he made sure every girl was treated special…" _Kaoru thought while chuckling.

"There's nothing different about that… I do it all the time… It is entirely your fault that you had mistook my actions into something else…" he said blatantly ignoring the look of hurt on Sayo's face.

"Wh-what? You are blaming me?" Sayo shouted. Her face was no longer a picture of sorrow, it was one of anger, and it didn't match her almost angelic face.

Kaoru shook her head. This girl was getting ugly.

"You're not my type Sayo…" the red head guy said simply and Kaoru had to sigh and shake her head.

"_Another woman that had her heart broken by this guy…" _Kaoru thought.

Kaoru watched as the guy and that woman Sayo stood on their spot for some minute and she can see that the guy was becoming impatient.

"Look Sayo, you need to—"

He was cut off and Kaoru almost give out a shriek, for Sayo sudddenly picked up the innocent frappe that the red head man currently prepared and chucked its content… to his face.

Both Kaoru and the guy stay still, obviously shocked with what had happened as the Sayo woman marched outside the coffee shop with her chin stubbornly held high.

Kaoru was the first to shake herself from the shock and she quickly scanned the place to see if anybody noticed _that_ scene. Apparently, no one noticed what had happened, again. All customers were busy chatting with each other or tending to their laptops. Still, she was the only one that saw that _show._

She was slightly in her own stupor but when she looked at the red head man in the counter that had been recently a victim of raging girls; she managed to see a perfect view of his face. And something caught in her throat.

He was truly handsome, that red head, despite the aggravation etched on his face.

Kaoru watched as he slammed his both hands in the counter and gritted his teeth.

"Damn it!" he hissed.

She wasn't delusional when she saw amethyst in his eyes because it was really the color of his irises.

He slammed his hands to the counter once again, now forming it into a fist. The movement must've shaken his body, thus causing the remnants of whipped cream on his bangs tumble onto the tip of his nose.

Despite the scrunched nose, creased eyebrows and narrowed eyes, he still didn't fail to look so… cute.

Kaoru can't help but to giggle, not very much unaware that it was louder than the last time.

The red head guy heard the giggle, causing him to pause his fuming. He looked at the side of the counter where he spotted a raven haired girl, giggling on her seat that was only two meters away from the counter side.

His eyes narrowed and fixated his gaze to the giggling girl.

Kaoru sensed that someone was watching her and as if on instinct, all she needed to do was to turn her neck to see the source of her disturbance: the red head guy, looking intently at her with his brows creased together and lips forming a thin line.

Their eyes met. Sparkling blue met cold amethyst.

For the moment, Kaoru only had one thought…

"_Uh-oh…"_

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_So how was it? Love or loathe it, please let me hear it. I really wanted to hear that you _loved_ it but if not, I'm willing to take constructive criticisms. No flames please? No need to flame me because I will accept your criticisms with open arms. I make a lot of room for improvements. :)_

_By the way, this fic was inspired by some local romantic pocketbook that I love so much. So if you already know it just by reading this, please don't assume that I copied it because I can assure you that this is still original. I just make the pocketbook the source of my inspiration. :)_

_Thanks to my friend Brittany for helping me with the grammars! :)_


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

_Hello there! I'm sorry for the late update but I've been very busy with my work while writing another chappie for my other fic, Torment for Nodame Cantabile. Still, I love the great feedbacks of my fellow members here in FFnet and feedbacks from some anonymous readers. Because of that, I've made this fic as my priority. :D _

_I'll stop with the babbling and let's start reading! Hope you'll like it... :)_

_Of course, no matter how much I love Kenshin Himura, he was still not mine along with the other characters. So please don't sue and let me have some fun writing this fic for my readers. :)_

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"_Uh oh…"_

Kaoru found her mouth opening slightly, unable to tear her gaze from the red head guy at the counter.

"_He caught me! He caught me!" _She mentally screamed.

Kaoru nearly smacked herself for letting her guard down.

As for the red head guy, Kaoru watched him get his handkerchief and started to wipe his face. This was her cue to look for some way to excuse herself and leave without giving the impression of running away.

At first she thought of pretending that someone was calling her and wanted her to drop by. It was a seemingly perfect idea, but before she started searching for her cell phone, someone pulled the chair across from her and sat.

Again, their eyes met. It was the red head guy.

Kaoru wanted the floors to open and swallow her alive, but unless some dark magic possessed the shop soon, it was unlikely to happen, so she settled for averting her gaze and biting the straw of her frappe.

"Did you see or hear what just happened?" the red head asked Kaoru in a slightly aggravated tone.

Kaoru put on her most innocent face before turning to him to talk, but her mask slipped off quickly as up close he looked even better.

Amethyst eyes that shone like jewels. Hair that was so thick and so red that despite it being a little messed, it still looked dazzling. Soft features that were almost feminine, but strangely masculine at the same time, and slightly tanned skin that almost glowed. This man was beautiful.

"Miss?"

Kaoru was shaken from her stupor. She was embarrassed by her long and obvious perusal of him and angry of her overly-hormonal urges.

"_Oh no! Don__'__t you dare, Kaoru! You already have Enishi and you're lucky to have him!" _She mentally scolded herself,_ "Even if this guy is much better looking than him, you should be faithful! Enishi is busy in his work and you're sat here drooling over a guy that was harassed by two raging girl? Damn you Kaoru!" _

The red head raised a crimson eyebrow, quite amused by this girl.

Momentarily, he regretted disturbing her from what was apparently a deep train of thought, but he needed some confirmation to do with this girl that had to be done.

"Miss?" he repeated.

He watched Kaoru's expression become surprised before looking away

"I don't know what you are talking about…" She said, not looking at him while stirring her frappe with straw.

Kaoru heard the red head guy sigh and lean forward in his seat. She took a small look at him and she watched as he leaned his elbows on the table, intertwining his fingers and resting his chin.

Now Kaoru faced him.

"Really?" the red head guy asked in a mocking tone.

Before she answered, she looked at him closely and saw a small remnant of whipped cream on his nose. This little reminder of the past happenings caused her to suddenly… laugh.

The guy pulled his elbows away from the table and fully leaned his back into the seat. He sighed.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," he mumbled, clearly irritated, "as obviously, you saw _and _heard all of it…"

"Yes!" she gasped between fits of hilarity, "yes!"

He suddenly felt flustered and slightly irritated by the girls continued laughter. He was mortified that she had been witness to the whole scene, hoping, possibly stupidly, that most of it might have escaped her notice.

Kaoru became aware of the annoyance etched on his face and she tried her best to keep herself from laughing.

"Look… I am so sorry about that… I just can't help it!" She grinned, trying to stifle her giggles, "it's not everyday you get to watch something interesting like that!"

"Well… I'm glad that I made you happy with my little show…" he replied with sarcasm.

"Aww… No need to be mad, red head… I'm sorry for laughing," she said sincerely, "but I guess you shouldn't let your girls know where you work. Won't your boss be mad?"

Kaoru watched as his features turned more grim. Did she say something wrong?

"I own this place…"

Kaoru was shock for a minute. Did she just mistake the owner of this coffee shop as its service crew? He sure didn't look like management, but still it was pretty rude of her to just label him like that.

The red head watched her gape as she realized what her mistake had been. It made him chuckle because the young lady across him was very cute.

"I-I'm _so _sorry! I didn't mean to mistake you as service crew!" she apologised, "I mean, you were at the counter and everything…"

Kaoru so badly wanted to disappear right there in her seat.

He was amused by the raven haired young lady's reaction. She was so cute. He never encountered a girl that acted so freely like that. Probably because the women he was always with were trying to act refined, not wanting to drop their demure poise.

"So you're sorry because you had mistaken me as service crew?" the red head asked, a smile playing about his lips as he watched Kaoru nod meekly, "But not sorry that you invaded my, or rather, our privacy by watching and listening to our conversation?"

"Ana! It's not like I purposely watch it!" she cried in defence, eyes wide, "It just happened that I was sitting here and you and those two girls were having the drama of your life!"

The red head guy pinched the bridge of his nose. This was really happening.

"_So, she saw the entire thing…"_ he mentally said.

"Point taken…" he said aloud, "But you could have just left and let me dealt with it privately."

Red head was expecting an embarrassed expression from her but was surprised when she gave him a toothy grin instead, nearly causing him to blush at the sight of her cute pearly white teeth.

"No way! This is my favourite seat! It's comfortable and away from the other babbling customers. Besides," she laughed, "I just couldn't help but get curious at what was happening to you with those girls."

He really couldn't help but to smile at this young lady. She was really something, strange but promising.

"Anyways, do you hook up with those girls then just dump them?" she asked clearly interested.

"_She__'__s not only strange… Nosy too..."_ he thought but he was not annoyed anymore.

Red head decided that he could tell her some of what happened. It won't hurt anyone right? Besides, it wasn't like he would see her again. Even though he silently wished that he would.

"I don't hook up with them because I want to…" he began, seeing her questioning face, but deciding to continue. "It's more for… for business."

"Business?"

"Yes… It's a long story that you need not know of. Maybe someday but certainly not today."

Kaoru pouted at his resolve but she shrugged it aside. She shouldn't have put her nose in his personal business anyway.

"Hmmm... Okay! But still," she said while waving her forefinger at him like she was lecturing him, "you shouldn't take advantage of them just because you're good looking, you know."

"I told you, it's not like that. It's for business' sake… And did you just tell me that I am good looking?" he asked with one eyebrow raised and a mischievous smile playing on his face.

Kaoru became flustered by her error and really wanted to smack herself for having such a big mouth.

"Well… Yes!" she said trying to keep her cool. "After all, those girls wouldn't want your attention if you weren't, right?" She watched the red head's smile become wider and she blushed again.

It made her angry that a complete stranger was making her lose her composure. He was good looking, and he knew it!

"Besides, it's not like I care," she said casually, trying to win back some of her pride.

"Oya?" the red head asked playfully while gracing a very sexy, very teasing smile.

Kaoru know what kind of smile is was. He was certainly a player. Not a playboy but a player that could manipulate a lot of things with charisma, looks and charms. He definitely knew how to use his strengths.

She smiled back at him, and was rewarded by his perplexed expression.

"Well Mr. Red Head –"

"Kenshin," he said in an endearing tone than she wanted to melt to, "call me Kenshin."

"W-well… Mr. Kenshin, I am not interested with you because…"

"Because?" he smiled mischievously, watching her.

She returned the smile sweetly and said…

"You are not my type…"

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_There you have it! Before I end this, let me get this clear. Kenshin, here in my fic is or never had been a playboy. Yes, it might look liked he is one but definitely not. You'll understand in the upcoming chapters as to why he hooked up with those girls. Well, I guess the "for business" explanation already gave you the idea, right? Nothing much but I still want to defend Kenshin because even this fic is an AU fic, I still don't want to loose the sweet and honest rurouni. ;)_

_I'll try to post the next installment as soon as possible. No promises but I'll try my best! :D_

_Love or loathe it, please let me know by clicking the REVIEW button down there._


	3. Chapter 3: Office Stuffs

_There are no author's note up here so I'll go directly with the Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is not mine because if it is, I will really make sure that Kaoru and Kenshin will have a kiss and a rated honeymoon scene. :D_

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It was already ten o'clock in the evening when Kenshin arrived at his flat. He opened the door, put his shoes in the corner and walked straight towards the kitchen, where he pulled out some left over beef pot from his refrigerator and put it inside the microwave.

Setting the time, he left it and walked toward the living room, where he flopped himself in his big couch and heaved a deep sigh.

The day had been an incredibly busy one, and already his secretary had fixed his schedules and appointments so tightly that it wouldn't get much better over the coming week.

He wanted to relax and have some time to himself. If he was not so tired, he would have liked to cook something extravagant for his dinner, but instead he was stuck with micro waved leftovers.

Kenshin stood up again after loosing his tie and some of the buttons of his shirt. He went straight to the counter to grab his mug to make some coffee, hoping it would kick him back to life enough that he wouldn't simply fall asleep and miss yet another evening.

He used some branded instant coffee mix and after tasting it, his face cringed. This is nothing like his coffee at the Akabeko. Coffees and Frappes from the Akabeko were the best tasting in their city and this 3-in-1 instant coffee in his hand was no where near as good. He knew he ought to make the time to get a proper coffee machine for his personal use at home but it just never seemed to happen.

Speaking of Frappes, Kenshin suddenly remembered a certain raven haired young lady in his coffee shop. Thinking back on their meeting six days ago made him smile. She had really been something….

"_You are not my type…" she smiled._

_Kenshin was taken aback for a moment by her statement. It wasn't that he was boasting but it was the first time that any woman had said that to him._

_But then again, she was not like the other girls, and Kenshin liked it a lot._

_He chuckled._

"_It__'__s official, I like you," he beamed at her blush, "Miss…?"_

"_Kaoru." She replied, lowering her eyes with embarrassment, "and I think I don__'__t like that you like me… I already have a boyfriend and I said you aren't my type." _

_Kaoru lifted her chin to amplify what she had said to him, but he only smiled amicably back at her._

"_Miss Kaoru, it__'__s not like that…__"__ he smiled, "what I mean is I like you as a person. It's nice to meet a woman that I can actually be friends with, without having any romantic attachments."_

_"__Oh…" Kaoru looked slightly flustered at this, "W-well… Okay. Friends! B-but if you are planning something, you might as well forget it now because I'm not falling for it."_

_Kenshin just smiled kindly at her and shook his head. "I'm not planning anything."_

"_Hmm. You look sincere so… Good!" she said. "Now if you__'__ll excuse me, Kenshin, I should get going now. I think I've already spent enough time procrastinating here…" _

_Kaoru stood up and ever the gentleman, so did Kenshin._

"_I think I need to go too," he sighed, "I should be getting back to the office, I suppose…"_

"_Office?"_

"_Yes. And to think that it__'__s Saturday right?" he smiled._

"_But__… you mean this coffee shop isn't your only work?_

_Kenshin thought for a minute before answering the innocently meant question. What would be the harm? After all, he hoped to see her again, so she would more than likely find out sooner or later, right?_

"_Yes. This shop is more of just a passion of mine," he explained, "but I have another much bigger business to attend to which takes up most of my time." _

"_That explains why it__'__s the first time I've seen you here," she said slowly, watching him with curious eyes, "I wondered, since I'm here every Saturday…."_

"_And that explains why you had mistaken me for service crew!" he added, grinning mischievously._

"_No need to rub it on my face!" she blushed, but laughed good naturedly before picking up her purse and left the chair. "Bye now, Mr. Big-time."_

"_I__'__ll see you around?" Kenshin called after her as she walked towards the exit._

_Kaoru turned around to him, smiling brightly, "Of course!"_

Kenshin really wanted to see her again.

The microwave beeped signaling that his food was ready, and he moved out of the chair with a smile still playing on his lips.

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The day after was better than the last few days. All reports had been submitted to the head office. Not much work and not much hassle meant plenty of time to visit his coffee shop. The journey to the Akabeko was a pleasant one, save for the little drama of being assailed by another woman that begged for his attention, who he quickly denied and was abruptly slapped by.

Sighing, he continued to make his way to the coffee shop while rubbing the offended cheek.

He was about to go to the back door of the coffee shop when he spotted a raven haired young lady sitting on her favourite seat through the glass pane. Smiling, he entered the coffee shop and slowly approached her.

Kaoru didn't notice the presence of the person standing in front of her table until he took the chair across from her and sat.

Automatically, she looked up to see who the intruder was and found herself staring into the amethyst orbs of a familiar red head.

"Kenshin!" she squeaked, clearly surprised.

"Hello there too, Miss Kaoru. You seemed very busy today." He said while nodding to her laptop.

"Oh… Yeah… Kind of busy." She replied, as soon as her words left her mouth, her attention turned swiftly back to her laptop again.

Kenshin was curious and a little disappointed. He wondered what could be so important as to distract her so much as to make her practically ignore him. He had been looking forward to this meeting all week, wanting to talk to her as soon as he'd seen her sat here.

"Do you mind if I look at what you are doing?" he politely asked.

"Not at all…" was her reply, but she was still distracted by whatever was on the screen in front of her, that he was almost positive she hadn't really been listening. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Kenshin rose from his seat and pulled the chair right next to her, He sat down carefully, planning to simply read over her shoulder until he could work out what she was up to, but the moment his gaze landed on her laptop screen, his eyes widened and he became silent.

Kaoru sensed the silence of her companion. She turned to look at him and she saw him intently looking at the web page she was viewing.

"What? Do you think Himura Corporation is too big for me?" she asked feeling a little insecure.

Kenshin was surprised. "What?"

"Oh… I haven't told you." She mumbled to herself but enough for him to hear.

"Told me what?"

"Well…" she started, "You see… I resigned from my job at Shinsen Group. I'm the secretary for the CEO there, but…. My boss was such an ass!"

Kenshin had to smother his amusement at this outburst, but she didn't seem to notice.

"He's conceited and inconsiderate! He's like a wolf! I can't stand it!" she ranted, "So I resigned. They told me to stay for at most thirty days but I don't want to because I don't want to work for him ever again! I've been very patient with him for the last year and a half and that's all I can take!"

She slammed her fist on the coffee table earning a startled gasp from the customers in the near table and a slight flinch from Kenshin. Kaoru suddenly seemed to realise that she was making a ruckus and faked a cough to hide her embarrassment. She looked at Kenshin in silent apology but he just smiled and nodded for her to continue.

"Anyway, I've applied for a position as a secretary for the Himura Corporation. I passed the preliminary interview and the secondary interview too, but the third and final interview is this Monday and I'm starting to panic," she ran her hand through her hair in agitation as she spoke, "the company's HR told me that the CEO will be the one to interview me and that if I get hired, I'll work directly under him as his Personal Assistant. They also told me it'd help if I research the company, so that's the reason why I am in this site." She paused. "Kenshin, are you even listening? And why are you smiling?"

Kaoru was a little disconcerted by the huge grin on his face and the laughter dancing in his eyes as he watched her.

_Damn it! This guy should stop smiling or I will really, really, _really _have to slap myself! _

"Eh-hmm…." She faked a cough again.

Kenshin scooted closer to her and slid an arm between her and her laptop. She watched incredulously as he closed the top carefully, still smiling at her

"Kenshin," she said huffily, "you can't just go through life thinking you can do whatever you like, you know."

Kenshin just laughed, "Miss Kaoru, although it's always a good idea to research the company that you're applying for, it isn't the most important thing."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?" she asked with a slight tone of sarcasm.

"To do a good job, you'll be expected to know about the company, sure, but in the end, that's the job of the CEO, isn't it?" Kenshin explained with a little sly glint in his eyes, "don't you think that he would rather hear about you, and what you can do for him, rather than things about his own company that he already knows?"

Kaoru was taken aback for a second, surprised that he was actually making some sense. She narrowed her eyes at him as if examining him carefully.

"How did you know that, Kenshin?" She asked, but immediately realized the answer as she spoke, "Oh… I forgot. You're a professional, right?"

Kenshin just smiled back placidly, looking increasingly pleased with himself.

"What kind of business are you running? Are you a manager there?"

Kenshin seemed to be watching her, almost waiting for something, still smiling in that lightly smug manner. Sighing, Kaoru slumped back to her chair feeling defeated.

"Mou… The only thing you answered my questions with are smiles…"

"Can I ask you something, Miss Kaoru?"

"Well… I don't see why not," she shrugged, "shoot."

Kenshin turned his position so he was now facing her fully. His gaze was suddenly very intense and she couldn't keep her heart from beating heavily in her chest.

"Miss Kaoru, why do you think the Himura Corp should hire you?"

Was he trying to help her by doing a mock interview?

"I guess because I am a fast leaner," she answered uncertainly, "I can work hard and being a secretary is my forte. I can manage time, schedules and appointments and I am a great multi-tasker."

When Kenshin waited until he was sure she was finished with her answer, before leaning back slightly in his chair, regarding her steadily.

"I think every other applicant will say that. Anyone who has applied for this position would be able to do those things, or should be able to, at least. What you need to focus on, is what makes you different?"

Kaoru thought about this for a moment before answering carefully, "Well, I'm very meticulous in everything I do. I want to learn, and I'm desperate to do well in anything I try. I've had a lot of experience, but I know there's still so much more for me to absorb, and I'll do whatever it takes to be the best at what I do. Even if I'm faced with a problem that's beyond my capabilities, I'll always find a way to do it; if it means research, or overtime, or simply bugging someone to teach me, I will learn until it's perfect."

Kenshin was astounded by her sudden passion and the fire in her eyes as she spoke, and for a moment he could do nothing but stare.

Kaoru giggled at his reaction and said: "I'm too persistent for my own good, you know…"

This time, they both smiled.

"I'm sure you'll get this job, Miss Kaoru." He said and she wanted to melt in his voice, _again._

"You think so?" she asked, still feeling a little insecure.

"I know so…" he assured.

For some reason, Kenshin's assurance found a comfortable position in Kaoru's heart that made her believe all his words. The guy was sincere, she could feel it.

"Well I hope you are not saying that just to please me, Kenshin," She said playfully while lifting her chin up and raising an eyebrow, "I told you, you are not my type."

"I am not doing anything Miss Kaoru. Your vindication hurts." He said while dramatically putting a hand over his chest.

They both laughed at his dramatic action, but their enjoyment was interrupted when Kaoru's cell phone vibrated. She signaled a hand in apology at Kenshin as she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

Kenshin watched her features turned bright.

"You will?" she squealed.

"I am at the Akabeko" she continued.

"Okay, five minutes! See you!" and then she hung up.

Kenshin watched her eyes sparkle and her cheeks redden. He knew exactly who her caller was.

"You're boyfriend?" he asked and she responded with giggle.

He was amazed. She was beautiful when she blushed and squealed like that as if being in love was the only thing that mattered in the world. It had been a long time since he had seen someone express love the way she did. With the girls he dated, all he can see was lust and the opportunistic glint that danced in their eyes but with her, it was so very different and real. Miss Kaoru was the same as the woman he was once with, but like her, her giggles, blushes and happiness were not because of him.

"You should find someone worth it, you know!" she said thus waking him from his trance.

Kenshin just shrugged.

"You should drop your playing and find some woman that will make you happy!" she exclaimed pointing at him.

Kenshin sighed, "I told you, I am not playing with them. I expect you'll find out soon enough though…"

"I will?" she questioned. "How soon?"

Kenshin looked at her and gave her a wink. "Just soon…"

Kaoru swallowed a lump in her throat. This guy was making her breathing hard. She closed her eyes to stop herself from looking at him.

Suddenly hearing the small creak from the entrance of the café, she opened her eyes again and turned expectantly to the entrance, and was happy to see her boyfriend scanning his eyes around the area.

Kenshin was looking at her when she closed her eyes, then suddenly snapped it open only to look at the entrance door. The next thing she was doing was waving her hand as if she was signaling whoever came.

He looked at the direction of her sight and he saw a man, a man with white hair and dark glasses.

"Enishi! Here!" He heard Kaoru call happily.

_So this is her boyfriend. _He narrowed his gaze a little more. _This guy looks _awfully_ familiar._

Kenshin didn't know where or when he had seen this guy before, but he was sure they knew each other. He was so focused figuring where he saw him that he didn't feel Kaoru was already gone by his side. She had picked up her things and was now standing over by the white haired guy.

Kaoru beamed down at him and that was his cue to stand up for some introduction.

"Enishi this is Kenshin, friend and the owner of this shop. Kenshin, this is Enishi, my boyfriend." She introduced them with a happy tone and Enishi outstretched his arms to give his hand. Kenshin felt sick looking at his grinning face, there's something really bad about this guy.

He really didn't want to touch the hand of that guy to shake hands but he also didn't want to be rude or disappoint Kaoru's happy face. After a moment of inner turmoil, he gave his hand and they shook for a second before withdrawing.

"I'll get my woman now, dude. Nice meeting you." Enishi said while saluting and giving him a grin.

It made him sick.

"I'll see you around, Kenshin." Kaoru said before intertwining her hand with Enishi.

Something in his gut hurt like he had been punched, but he tried to ignore it and focused on where they had met before.

Then he remembered something, something to do with Kaoru's work.

* * *

Monday came and still, Kenshin couldn't think where he had seen Enishi, but his other business was very much remembered. In fact, when he arrived at the office, he immediately called his receptionist and ordered her to come over him.

Misao, his little receptionist came over him and waited for his request.

"Do we have an applicant named Kaoru who has a meeting today?"

Misao was a little perplexed by this sudden interest in the applicant for the Personal Assistant position. He had never shown an interest before, stating only that they needed to be good at the job and able to just get on with whatever he needed them to be doing. It was strange for him to suddenly ask outright like this.

"Uhm… We have two Kaorus, Himura-san. One is Kaoru Hanazono and Kaoru Kamiya." She handed him the resumes and watched him look at it.

He spotted her. The blue eyed, raven haired girl was Kaoru Kamiya. He grinned.

"Ano, Himura-san. Kaoru Hanazono will be—"

"Please call Kaoru Kamiya and tell her that her meeting today is canceled."

Misao frowned. She had liked the Kamiya girl a lot, and hoped she would get the position. Too bad for both of them that her boss for some reason had apparently taken a dislike to her … It was unusually cruel of him not to at least interview someone though.

"Pull out the application advertisement as well…" he said and turned his back to his puzzled receptionist, "and would you be so good as to call Hanazono-san and tell her we have already hired a PA for the position."

"Himura-san?"

"I want Kaoru Kamiya hired." He smiled.

* * *

_As you can see, we have a little interaction between Kenshin and Enishi. Of course, I am not the one to leave some little interaction between the two rivals right? I promise there will be a ruckus involving this two guys, to where and when? You'll just have to wait... ;)_

_Oh! And do you remember the part where Kenshin compared Kaoru to some woman? Like she was someone from his past? Hmmm...? I am just asking! :D_

_There you have it. Still, love or loathe it, I wanted to hear it. So please press the REVIEW THIS CHAPTER button down there. ^^_

_I thank my friend, VIOLET for helping me with the grammars and proper words to use! Girl, thank you so much! :)_


	4. Chapter 4: Surprise

_Hi once again. It's been almost two weeks since my last update and I am very sorry for that. Things were a little busy in my work despite that I prioritized this fic. But I am already writing the next chapter so hang on there guys!_

_So with the disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin and I am not making profit out of it because if I do, it will be a sure ball that I will spend whatever income I will earn from this and produce a live action movie for Rurouni Kenshin._

_That's all. Enjoy. :)_

_

* * *

_

The sun peeked through the slits of her curtains. The warm streaks of sunlight touched her face, causing her to wake up from her slumber.

Kaoru opened her eyes and instantly, her face bloomed with a smile.

She sat right up and swung her legs off her bed, then went straight to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.

After she rinsed her mouth, washed her face and combed her hair, Kaoru strode towards the kitchen where she spotted her roommate, and best friend, yawning in her pyjamas.

Her best friend caught a sight of her smiling face and she snorted ungracefully, contrary to her usual image.

Kaoru just giggled at the sarcastic gesture of her friend. She had a haunch that she had been busy until very late last night.

"Kaoru… how can you always be such a morning person?" her best friend asked while pulling out a bag of bread from their refrigerator.

"Well, it's because I don't stay out until past midnight at somebody's house because I was," she brought her hands up and did a quoting movement, "_teaching_. Neh, Megumi?" a mischievous glint danced in her eyes.

Kaoru watched in satisfaction as Megumi blushed so uncharacteristically, and she giggled again.

"Hmph! You should stop that, Tanuki." Megumi said simply with her chin stubbornly held high.

Her smile turned into a pout as she heard the infamous name that Megumi had used to tease her with way back in college.

"Mou! I was just playing!" she said.

Megumi smirked and looked back at her, "I was just teasing you too..."

Kaoru harrumphed and held her chin high imitating Megumi's earlier action while she moved herself to sit at the counter.

"Jam, cheese or peanut butter?" Megumi asked while putting four slices of bread in the toaster.

"You know me… cheese, of course." She responded.

They went silent for a moment but Megumi felt the burning perusal of her friends eyes burning into her.

"Kaoru…" she sighed.

Kaoru gave her a toothy grin.

"C'mon Megumi! You haven't told me anything about the guy you are tutoring! It's been over a month but you still haven't told me what he's like!"

"How did you know that he was a guy?" Megumi asked, now looking at her.

Kaoru sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, duh! I've heard you talking to him over the phone and although I can't hear his voice, I still saw you blush! And as a matter of fact, you're not one to blush easily, unless you're talking to someone that you really like. Besides, we all know that you only go for guys, right?" she said with a satisfied smile.

Megumi proceeded to put some spread and cheese on their toast as if she hadn't heard anything that Kaoru had said.

"Megumi!" Kaoru snapped clearly irritated by being ignored.

"What if I tell you I am hooking up with girls nowadays, hmm?" she said.

Kaoru rolled her eyes and huffed, "Yeah right… As if…" she said sarcastically.

Megumi giggled a little and decided that she should at least give her nosy friend a little information about the guy she was tutoring and starting to like. But just… little.

"Okay…" she watched as Kaoru's blue eyes sparkled with delight. Taking the gesture as an encouragement, she proceeded. "Well… He's a normal medical student in some University in the South that owns a small business. There."

Megumi continued her work at the loaf bread, totally ignoring the dumbfounded expression of her friend.

"That's it?" Kaoru asked disgruntled.

"Yes." She simply replied.

Kaoru sighed in defeat. She knew that when her friend wanted to keep a secret, she really wouldn't get it out of her… yet. She would just have to wait until she blurted it out herself.

"Okay fine! But whoever he is, I know you like him…" her sly smile was back on her face.

Megumi tilted her chin, more stubbornly than before, but that didn't hide the pink tinting her cheeks.

"No way. I won't like that tori-atama!" she retorted.

"Tori-atama?"

"Yes. He has this thick dark brown hair that stands up. Spiky."

"I see…" Kaoru replied looking like she was in deep thought. Megumi noticed it.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, taking the prepared toast and spreading it delicately whilst taking a seat next to her.

"I was just remembering this guy from my high school days. He also had thick, dark brown spiky hair and I used to call him tori-atama…"

Megumi just shrugged her shoulders and took a bite on her peanut butter toast.

"Well, there are a lot of guys out there who have spiky hair!" she grabbed her toast and bit off a mouthful, "still, I know you like him!"

Megumi sighed and stood up again. She grabbed two mugs and pulled out the orange juice from the refrigerator.

"Orange or coffee?" she inquired to Kaoru.

"OJ for me! I'll get my caffeine later at the Akabeko." She said, grabbing her mug and beckoned Megumi to pour her some orange juice.

"Again? You go there every single Saturday."

She giggled. "It's my hang out place ever since you started to go out every weekend to tutor." Kaoru noticed the sudden guilt on her best friend's face. "You don't need to feel bad about it!" she immediately said, "I like the place! I even made friends there…"

"Oh yeah… The red head guy with the Frappe on his face that you met a few weeks ago?" Megumi said while finishing the rest of her breakfast.

"Yeah!" she laughed, "but he still looked handsome despite that!"

"Sounds to me like you have a little crush on him…" Megumi remarked.

"Heck no! His just a friend! Besides, I already have Enishi."

Megumi gulped the remaining content of orange juice in her mug. She refused to comment about Enishi. If she was being honest, she didn't like the guy. He was too obnoxious and big headed to be Kaoru's boyfriend. But Kaoru loved him, so she remained silent.

"Speaking of which… I should tell Kenshin about my work. I'm sure he'll be happy for me." Kaoru spoke enthusiastically.

Megumi was already at the sink, placing the plate and mug she had used carefully into the soapy water. She turned to Kaoru and gave another sigh.

"I can tell that you are happy the Himura Corporation hired you. That company was big time, you know." She told her.

Kaoru pouted at her. "Mou… Enishi told me that the company is too big for me, now you too?" she pouted even more, "Unlike you two, Kenshin really believed that I could get it."

Megumi smiled. She hasn't met the guy yet but she already wanted him for Kaoru.

"Tanuki, I'm not saying that it's too big for you, I just mean it's hard to get hired by a company as big as that, and you getting through it without breaking a sweat was really something." she grinned at her. "Go feel good about that, Kaoru."

"I am!" Kaoru laughed. "Sa! I'm going to take a bath now. Wash my dirty plates okay?"

Before Megumi could react, Kaoru was already sprinting up to her bedroom. She shook her head and smiled. Since Kaoru was happy, why didn't she enjoy herself with the tori-atama? After all, Kaoru was right; she did like the guy already.

* * *

She looked at the door every time someone came inside the Akabeko. It had been two hours since Kaoru and Megumi left their apartment and parted ways to go to their respective destinations and it had been almost an hour since she arrived at the café and started waiting for a certain red head.

Kaoru heaved another sigh. She started thinking that maybe he wasn't coming today, possibly too busy with his other business.

Then suddenly, the door opened and it revealed the handsome red head she was waiting for. He was wearing a dark blue Brioni polo shirt, straight cut dark jeans and black and white converse.

Kaoru's lips formed a silent "ooh" upon seeing him. Sure she was aware that he was good looking but not like this. Somehow, her sight was only focused on him and his charm, unlike before when she had been focused on something else, like their conversation and when she was researching the company she applied for.

Kenshin immediately caught sight of her and smiled. Kaoru's heart beat rapidly in her chest but she ignored it by saying to herself that she should not feel this for any other man except her boyfriend. Keeping that in mind, she waved at him and beckoned him to sit with her.

Kenshin obliged. He walked close to her and sat on the chair across from her.

"Hello there, Miss Kaoru." He greeted with an ever so charming smile plastered on his face.

Kaoru's heart skipped a beat but she paid no attention to it. Being a loyal girlfriend to Enishi was important to her, and so any amount of his sweet smiles would be brushed aside.

Even if she was having a hard time doing so.

"Hello there too, Kenshin!" she leaned closer to him over the table, "I have something to tell you!"

Kenshin just nodded, waiting for her to continue. He watched in fascination as her eyes went huge and sparkled with delight.

"I got the job! I'm the new P.A. of the CEO of the Himura Corporation!" she happily informed him, "I got it Kenshin!"

Kenshin smiled finding that her laughter and smiles were really contagious.

"I knew that you would be hired Miss Kaoru. Didn't I tell you?"

Kaoru giggled at him, "Yes, and thank you for believing in me."

The sight of Kaoru smiling was really refreshing. For some unknown reason, he loved seeing her smiles even though it forced him into the horrible situation of remembering a _certain_ someone.

"No need to thank me Miss Kaoru, I've barely known you for three weeks but I know you are really smart and witty."

Kaoru smiled and she was aware that her blood was now pumping up to colour her face.

"Well, it was still good to know that someone had faith in me. Even Enishi told me that the company was too big for me." She stated absentmindedly.

Kenshin growled in his mind. That guy was certainly a bastard. How could he say something so discouraging to his girlfriend about something she so wanted to do? His abhorrence of this Enishi was increasing in leaps and bounds.

"Enishi. You're boyfriend." He mumbled and Kaoru just nodded.

"Speaking of your… boyfriend, I can't help but think I've seen him before."

"Really? When? Where?" was her enthusiastic reply.

"I can't remember when and where but I am certain that we've already crossed paths." Kenshin told her.

Kaoru pursed her lips as if she was thinking deeply, "Enishi is always at work, so maybe you've seen him at the office?"

_Doubt it_, he thought. Although there were a lot of employees under the Himura Corporation, he knew all those employees and he was positive that they didn't have anyone named Enishi.

"Maybe…" he lied.

Kaoru smiled and took a sip of her Frappe. It was almost empty but Kaoru liked finishing it to the last drop.

"Speaking of your boyfriend, are you here because you're about to meet him?" he asked.

Kaoru looked at him and Kenshin swore he saw a flash of disappointment and sadness cross her eyes. She looked down at her now empty plastic cup and shook her head.

"No. He's busy again, even though it's Saturday."

Her voice, in Kenshin's audible range, was unusually gloomy and sad. It made his hate for the guy increase another ten fold.

Seconds passed by and Kenshin was beginning to worry how he could cheer up the young lady across from him. It was like she had forgotten where she was and who she was with, as she silently drowned herself in the depression she was feeling.

Kenshin faked a cough to turn the attention of the raven haired beauty back to him. He was pleased to see that it worked. Kaoru looked like she was shaken from her dream while the pink colouring of her cheeks made him think that she was embarrassed because she let her guard down.

Although it was obvious, Kenshin made no comment and instead, he opened a new topic, grasping at anything to change the subject he had unwittingly stumbled over, "What do you think your boss will be like?"

Kaoru stared at him for a moment, not exactly sure why he was asking such things. After several seconds of gaping, things slowly sunk into her mind, bringing her back to reality.

Kenshin chuckled at her surprised reaction.

"Uhm… Well…" she started to stammer, "I tried to search for some information about the CEO, but the internet was not giving out much. Everyone seems to be keeping him pretty private. All I know is that he's a bachelor that graduated from Tokyo University, top notch."

"I see…" was all he could say, slightly embarrassed that he had caused them to be talking about him like this.

Kenshin knew why his company didn't give out much information about him. After all, it was his request. He wanted to live a normal life despite his being elite in the world of industry so he kept his identity a secret.

"Whoever Mr. Himura is, I think he's probably nothing but a snob. A cranky thirty year old lonely guy." She suddenly babbled.

Something caught in Kenshin's throat and he couldn't help a rude cough.

"Kenshin! Are you okay? Do you have a cold?" Kaoru asked with genuine concern.

Kenshin just tried to clear his throat, not looking at her. He might have appreciated her worry if he was actually ill, but he was perfectly fine and the offending cough was the reaction from Kaoru's innocent description for the Himura Corporation's CEO… A description that supposed to be of him.

Kenshin knew that Kaoru didn't mean it and she would never say such things if she knew who the CEO really was, but since she did not, he would have to settle for her offending opinion. For now at least.

"I am fine, Miss Kaoru. My throat became a little dry, that's all." He lied. "Anyway, why did you come to the conclusion that your boss will be a lonely, cranky, snob bachelor?"

"Oh nothing! I just felt it. After all, it's really hard to be social and happy if you are managing as big a company as the Himura. Who knows? Maybe he's even starting to become bald!"

Kaoru giggled at her opinion. She found her judgment funny but Kenshin was silently feeling bad about her perspective and he idly fiddle the end strands of his red mane.

_I might be having some hair fall out but it's far from balding…_ he thought and unconsciously, a pout was emerging from his lips.

Kaoru didn't know what might have disturbed her little red head friend because he certainly looked disturbed. Nonetheless, the pout on his lips made him look very, very, _cute._

She giggled.

"Kenshin…" she called him and once again, he looked at her, "are you busy today?"

Kenshin, even still lost in his own musings, shook his head.

She smiled, "Would you like to spend time with me today?"

His wounded vanity was shoved away suddenly and his entire awareness was on this young lady and her sweet little request. He couldn't keep the smile playing on his lips as he watched her suddenly become embarrassed.

"You see…" her face became slightly pink and she began looking at her fingers and fiddled, "My friend is busy with her tutoring and Enishi is busy with his work. I really need to buy some new office clothes for my new job and I kind of need to have someone with me so I can ask their opinion. I don't have many available friends and since we're getting on so well and you're not busy… Maybe you could… Come with me?"

Her blush coloured a deeper shade of red. Kaoru was a really refreshing character. She was all innocence and pure sincerity, and clearly she was not aware of what warmth she brought to Kenshin's being.

For a second, Kenshin mentally cursed at the missing boyfriend of Kaoru, whatever he was doing. He would never say so, but he didn't believe it was anything to do with work, just because he looked too obnoxious to be hard working. He was just wasting his time for nonsense though, because spending time with Kaoru was by far the most entertaining thing he had done, ever since…

Kenshin stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. Kaoru looked up to him and he gave her a charming smile.

"It's my pleasure Miss Kaoru. But I believe that we should start shopping for your clothes soon, because if you really want my opinion on clothes, I should warn you that I am a tough critic…" he grinned.

Kaoru's eyes were wide for a moment before cracking a smile of her own. She grabbed her purse and stood up.

"Let's go." She said still smiling.

They went outside into the sunshine together, leaving her empty plastic cup of Frappe on the table.

* * *

Kaoru looked at herself in the mirror. If she was honest with herself, she knew she looked very dashing and professional.

For now, what she was wearing was a baby blue long sleeve blouse (since he said she looked good in blue), a black one button short jacket, a black tight skirt with slits on either side and a Bruni Magli Selvaggia, Black Patent for shoes.

Kenshin had helped her pick several new outfits, and a lot of them were for everyday office wear, smart casual and comfortable. Today was important though, so she chose to be professional looking.

She finished the look by applying little make up: cream coloured foundation, liquid eyeliner, pencil eyeliner, pink eye shadow and cherry red lipstick will do.

She decided to leave her hair untied, but made sure to blow-dry and straighten it so she would still look smart. After one last look at the mirror, she went out of the house, Megumi calling out good luck and well wishes to her as she went.

Kaoru took the cab today instead of the usual train. She made a great effort of making herself look good and she will not loose it at the crazy mob she'll encounter once she took the train.

Inside the cab, she silently prayed to the Kami-sama to make this day and the upcoming days at the Himura Corporation to be as lucky as possible.

* * *

Kaoru arrived at the place and she had to look up again at how high this building was. She walked inside and was greeted by the security guards and the big emblem of the Himura Corporation that was placed in the centre of the lobby, a red dragon that glistened like gold, while its mouth held a katana.

Kaoru passed through it and headed for the elevator. She glanced at her watch and she realized she was thirty minutes early, when her eyesight caught a glimpse of red.

Kaoru looked up only to see the back of someone with thick red hair that was bound in a high pony tail. She realized it was a man wearing a dark suit but his back was turned to her. For a moment, Kaoru thought it was Kenshin. She was about to run for him but the person was already inside the closing elevator.

Kaoru didn't have time to catch up with who ever that was. She felt a little disappointed but she just curious to confirm if it was Kenshin or not.

Kaoru shook her head. She didn't have time to think about Kenshin. This was her first day of work at a brand new place and she should be thinking of that, not that red head. After all, Kenshin was not the only red head in Tokyo.

She arrived at the top floor. The main office. The office of the CEO.

Misao greeted her and the little lady was really happy to see her. Even though Misao was little and a bit too hyper to be a receptionist, it didn't interfere with the fondness she had for this girl. One thing was for sure, she had now one friend in this company.

"So, the CEO's not changing his mind yet?" she asked Misao with a laugh, but some anxiety in her voice.

Misao giggled, "Of course not! Himura-san might not have interviewed you personally but he chose you. Maybe he got your background from your previous job and maybe, that was enough."

Kaoru grinned. If he had got her background from the Shinsen Group, it was for sure that the feedback won't be good, so whatever made the CEO decide on hiring her without an interview would remain a mystery.

"Here we are!" Misao pointed at the two mahogany doors.

Kaoru felt her palms getting sweaty. She was really nervous. She was now about to meet her boss.

The door opened and the first thing she saw was the big glass window that had the view of the other buildings from the outside.

The next thing she saw was the guy in a black suit with thick red hair that was tied in a high ponytail. Her boss had his back to her.

_Wait a minute…_

Kaoru's heart thundered in her ears as she realized that he really was _awfully familiar_.

Not just the red hair, but his build and height and his stance.

Kaoru gaped and her eyes widened.

"Himura-san, your personal assistant is here." Misao said.

Her boss finally turned his face to her and it revealed the most familiar person of all time.

"Himura-san, this is Kaoru, Kaoru this is Himura-san, owner of the Himura Corporation, Manufacturer of the Red Dragon Motors."

Kaoru felt like she was going to faint.

The red head smiled at her, making things ten times worse.

"Good Morning, Miss Kaoru…" he smiled with that stupid charming smile.

Finally, Kaoru found her voice in the depths of shock.

"Ke-_Kenshin…?_ "

* * *

_There you have it! In my perception as the author of this fic, things will get a little more interesting after this chapter as some characters will be introduce one by one. I know you had already guessed who they were because of the hints I am giving and because we all know that you guys are smart cookies! But I think you should still see it, 'kay?_

_Love or loathe it, I still want to hear it okay? The last chapter earned some great reviews and I felt awesome about it! I can't thank them enough. I hope thank you will do but I know it was a little repay for the great confidence you gave me. So I want you guys to know that I appreciate it and I am looking forward on seeing your names in the reviews. ^^_

_By the way, do you know Violet? a.k.a Sumiregusa? No? Well you guys should know her because she was an awesome writer and she help me with the grammars and proper use of words. Thank you again, girl! :D_


	5. Chapter 5: Personal Assistant

_Yep... I know. It's been almost three months since I last updated. For those who wonder, nope! I didn't die! But I did involve in an accident. Thankfully, just a minor one that earned me a sore foot and some bruise along side. Thank God to that... :) Anyways, that's one of the reasons why I didn't update for quite a while, not to mention, after my foot healed, works became loaded and I had to travel around the country. The good news is, I am back and was actually writing the next chapter for this! That is if you were still interested... ;)_

_So, enough with the talking! With the disclaimers!_

_Nope. Even though I love Kenshin, he belongs to Kaoru so it means I don't own him or them. Okay? Okay!_

_Here goes! Enjoy!_

* * *

The headache was tender and the pain was clearly etched on her face.

Kaoru pressed her forefinger and thumb in the bridge of her nose. Didn't she pray for Kami-sama to make things good for her once she begin her job here in the Corporation? Then why is this happening?

She nearly fainted when she saw who her boss was. It took her minutes before she came back to earth to face the doomsday at hand.

Kaoru knew that the hyper receptionist beside her was babbling something but the thoughts and shock that had been clouding her mind made it difficult to understand a thing she was saying.

All she knew was that after she had called _his_ name, everything went into a blur.

He was still smiling at her like it was the most common thing in the world to happen. He was just letting her little receptionist do the talking, who in her little understanding, didn't quite catch the fact that she had just called her boss, the CEO of the Himura Corporation, by his first name.

Her head was pounding so loudly that she could hear it from her ears. Suddenly, their encounters played back in her mind. She was thinking hard. Had she just missed something from him that indicated who he really was?

Then it hit her like a speeding bullet train. He had never given her his last name. Didn't he say he had a bigger business he was attending to?

And didn't he sort of mock interview her for the position?

Kaoru's eyes widened when that fact enlightened her clouded mind. Seconds after, she groaned.

_Why didn't I think of it? The CEO didn't interview__me because he already had… in the café…_

Her fingers unconsciously pressed harder in the bridge of her nose.

It had been three hours since the meeting with her boss and she spent those hours with Misao dragging her to various departments for introduction.

She barely remembered anyone because she was still thinking about Kenshin… no about Himura-san and his little trick on her.

Now, she was on her post, just outside the office of the CEO, staring at the two big mahogany doors. How could this be happening?

Kaoru grimaced then as if her mind clicked, she remembered a little part of their last conversation at the café…

"_What do you think your boss will be like?" _he asked and her reply was…

"_I think he's probably nothing but a snob. A cranky thirty year old lonely guy."_

Kaoru paled. Of course he was asking that question to know what she thought of _him_! And her reply was something as rude as that?

_Kami-sama… Why?_

Kaoru was on the verge of crying but Kami-sama was not yet done with playing tricks on her because those two big doors that she had unconsciously staring at had opened and along came out the handsome red head that had been bothering her mind the past few hours.

Really, bothering.

He stood in front of her.

"Miss Kaoru, did Miss Misao introduce you to the staff yet?"

Kaoru was agape for a moment, not believing that after the shock of her life, he was now standing in front of her, as if nothing had happened. After some time, she finally shook herself from the stupor and lowered her gaze before nodding at his question.

Kenshin smiled feebly. He was starting to feel a little guilty because of the truth he had kept from her. He stared at her for who knows how long, silently wishing that she didn't feel that she was being played by him.

Unable to contain the nudging feeling in his gut, he leaned forward.

"Miss Kaoru—"

He was taken aback when Kaoru stood up and bowed to him.

"I am sorry to blurt out something so rude to describe you! I didn't know! I am so sorry! If I had known that it was you in the first place, I swear I will never describe you as a cranky thirty years old lonely guy!" she exclaimed.

His eyes were wide with surprised but as soon as his mind processed the things she had said, he regained his composure and a small laugh escaped his lips.

Kaoru looked at him with an expression of great displeasure. Before he made Kaoru think that he was making fun of her (which he sincerely was not) he touched her shoulder with his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't be sorry, Miss Kaoru…" he smiled affably, "You are far too kind to mean any humorous description you had told me and I know you would never dare to joke like that to me if you knew who I really was…"

She bit her lip, "Yes… I would certainly not…" she said meekly. "You should've still told me about it, or at least interviewed me properly so I knew that you were my boss before you hired me."

Kenshin smiled. He was partly relieved that she was not angry at him but the other part was nervous. He really didn't know how to explain to her the reason why he kept it a secret. He was sure that it was not because he didn't trust her but because….

Feeling a little confused with himself, he sighed. He doesn't know. Even he doesn't know what rational reason was behind his secrecy to her. All that he was aware of was that he wanted to see her reaction because lately, he was getting interested in what other expression can be articulated by her pretty face.

For over ten years, it was the first time he became interested to a woman because of her guts and charming features.

"I thought we were friends…" she suddenly said.

Kenshin saw the flicker of disappointment and sadness in her eyes. His guilt was increasing and he was displeased.

"We are friends…" he said gently. "And I am sorry. Please don't think that it's because I can't trust you. Please forgive me."

Kenshin watched Kaoru. He hoped that his apology was enough for her because he knew that he couldn't come out with any coherent reasons.

"It's not a bother. It's not like I can be mad at my boss, right?"

Now he was uncomfortable. He didn't want this to happen, to end their friendship because of their relationship as employer and employee.

"Miss Kaoru, I would definitely hate it if you stop considering me as a friend. I maybe the CEO but it doesn't mean I can't be friends with…" he smiled.

Her eyes were wide with questions and surprises but then she smiled at him.

"Of course, you silly guy. But it will be only outside the office because I don't want people to talk about me when I cling at the CEO of the Himura Corp."

He smiled amicably before saying "Okay… But only inside the office…"

Kaoru smiled and Kenshin appreciate that she was now alright. Not disappointed, not sad. She was truly like sunshine, making everything feel warm inside with her smile.

"Himura-san?" she called.

Kenshin's brow creased then a crimson eyebrow rose.

"Well… We are in the office right now and I can't just call you by your first name…" she explained with a sheepish smile.

He didn't appreciate it but she made sense so he nodded at her.

"Anyways, Himura-san… I was wondering how you had become the CEO. You are so young…"

Kaoru watched as Kenshin chuckled and once again, she felt a little irritated. Before she opened her mouth to retort, Kenshin spoke.

"I am already twenty-eight, Miss Kaoru…" he informed her and was rewarded by seeing her cute shocked expression for the umpteenth time this day. "Anyways, the father of my father was the founder of Red Dragon Motors. He was in England where the Head Office is."

"And I as the heir," he continued, "manage this branch in Japan."

She was just gaping at him. His history of being a CEO has nothing to do with it but his age. His AGE! He was twenty-eight? How? How did he look as young as twenty-one?

"I know what you are thinking, Miss Kaoru." he spoke and waking her from her trance. "The answer is I don't know either…"

Kenshin had to repress a chuckle when a beautiful pout emerged from Kaoru's lips.

She sighed. Ever since they met, he never gave her proper answers to her questions.

"Anyways, Miss Kaoru…. Welcome to the company…" Kenshin said with a charming smile whilst his hand held out.

Kaoru looked at the hand and back to his face. After staring at his handsome face, Kaoru smiled at him, a smile that was so very sweet and very kind. Oblivious to her, it made Kenshin's heart beat rapidly inside his chest.

"Thank you…" she held his hand and they shake.

* * *

Almost two weeks had passed and Kaoru can say that she was happy in her new job. Her job demands a little more of her time than the usual. It was bound to happen because as Kenshin's P.A., she has to be around him as much as possible, waiting for assistance and commands. Still. Even if she was not with him, there was a lot of paper work waiting for him in her table.

Kaoru was intently looking at her file in hand, trying to study the background of their potential client. She was so busy that she didn't noticed Misao who was jumping across from her desk.

"Ne, Kaoru. Aren't you going to lunch yet?" she asked.

Kaoru gaped at her for a second then turned her face to her wrist watch realizing that it was already passed twelve.

Still, she was not hungry or feeling anything close to that. All that she knew is that she had a lot of things to do.

"Gomen, Misao-chan… I think I'll grab something to eat later. You go ahead now."

Misao's expression was torn between disappointment and bewilderment and Kaoru had no choice but to shrug it off. She assured her that she will be fine and would grab something to eat later. Finally, Misao and the rest of Human Resource and General Affair Department left the room leaving only her.

She sat again on her swivel chair, heaved a sigh and after some minutes of procrastinating and stretching, she went back to her work.

Not quite finish reading the first document that she began to study, the two mahogany doors opened slowly and revealed her handsome boss.

By reflex, Kaoru stood and bowed at him, oblivious to the weak smile of her boss gave.

"Why aren't you taking your break, Miss Kaoru?" he asked bemused.

"I'm just finishing some paper work, Himura-san…" she explained, "I'll grab something to eat after this…"

Kenshin's gaze landed on the piles of paper and her opened laptop over her desk. For him, it looked like she was really busy.

"Seems like your busy, Miss Kaoru…" he comment not taking away his gaze from her desk.

Kaoru felt a little insecure about the appearance of her post, nonetheless she answered him with a meek "yes."

"But I don't want my employees, especially my P.A. to become ill because of over working." He told her gently. "No matter how much work there is, I still think that you should not over exert yourself. I don't want my P.A. having an ulcer because she had a bad habit of not eating lunch…"

Kaoru shivered whenever he referred her as "my" even though the next description is totally professional. She idly wondered what it felt like to be referred to as "my" in a romantic way.

As soon as the thought was processed in her mind, it was abruptly shoved it away… again.

"Himura-san…I can assure you that I will be fine. I will grab something to eat later. I'll just finish this." She insisted.

Kaoru didn't know what to think, or do, when her boss gave out a hapless sigh. It was clear that he wasn't pleased with her response, but that is what she wanted to do. Still, he is her boss and she didn't want to offend him any further. The rude description when she was oblivious with who he boss is, was enough.

She was about to open her mouth to further convinced him in her decision of skipping lunch but he turned to her and smiled.

"It's okay, Miss Kaoru. I guess the saying persistence pays off was not applicable to me…" he said amicably.

Kaoru felt herself warm up because of the little embarrassment of shoving the good intention of her boss away from her.

_It's not like that… I just want to finish things and I am not hungry. That's all._

"Okay…" he smiled. "I'll go now."

And by that, she watched him went his way outside the room.

Flopping herself back on her chair, Kaoru pondered why the hell she was making a big deal out of it. She just wanted to finish a lot of work and she doesn't mind if a meal was skipped in the process. It's not like it was the first time she had done it, but her boss was too sincere for his own good, and somehow, she had this nagging feeling that she didn't want to disappoint him.

_Me and my thoughts..._ she glumly thought.

* * *

Fifteen minutes had passed since Kenshin left her in her post. She was vigorously typing on her laptop when the area suddenly became dark.

Of course, she was beyond startled, but when she looked up on the ceiling and saw that the lights were out, it gave her a logical explanation.

Kaoru stood up from her chair and went straight to the switch of the lights. Strangely, it was in "ON". She tried to switch it off and on again but the outcome was still the same, darkness.

Kaoru frowned but decided that with lights on or not, she will still continue to work. After making her way back to her seat and started working again, an uncomfortable feeling slowly crept in her being.

The place was dark, really dark and the only thing that prevented the darkness to overcome the whole room was the light illuminating from her laptop.

The first thing that came to her mind was the place began to look very scary. Also, the mahogany furniture didn't help. If the furniture made from a top class lumber looked extremely eye catching in the midst daylight, it gave an opposite effect when lurking in darkness. Like how it reminded her of old houses that happened to be used in making scary movies.

And her thoughts landing to the topic were scary movies was presented, Kaoru cringed at the mental images that her over-imaginative mind suggested.

"W-well…" she said to no one, "might as well, take my lunch break!"

Finding an excuse for herself, Kaoru closed her laptop, grabbed her bag and sprint outside the office. She was surprised to see that the lobby of their floor was bright. Bright as in there were lights. She wondered for a moment how can that possible be and was about to take another look inside the office to try the lights when her stomach growled as if in cue.

She never realized that she was _that _hungry until that moment. For awhile she was thorn between checking the lights and grabbing something for lunch still the latter won because she knew that her stomach won't let her hear the last of it.

Sprinting in the hallway of their fancy canteen, Kaoru saw Misao having her break in one of the tables.

As if she had a third eye, she looked up and clearly, her expression etched the gladness of seeing Kaoru _finally_ taking her break.

She waved at her and Kaoru took it as an offer to share seats with her.

"So you finally decided to stop trying to get an ulcer, huh?" Misao asked with a sly grin.

"You're over reacting…" she responded and helped herself to sit while Misao just gave her a chestier cat smile.

"Hey…" Kaoru begin, "was the lights in our office needed some repair?"

Misao's eyebrow rose, clearly she didn't know a thing about what she was talking about.

"Well… The lights in our office went off and when I let myself outside, the lobby had its lights turned on. Not just the lobby, the entire building! Except for our office... I guess."

"How was that possible? The electricians made it sure that our electrical needs were always maintained and taken care of." She replied also a little skeptic at her inquiry.

"I know. This is a big company after all. Thing like that don't go unnoticed." she replied. "It makes me curious too…"

Both seemed to be thinking how that was possible but the thoughts had stopped when Kaoru decided to stood up and order something for lunch.

Only a couple of feet away from the counter when she stopped her tracks and spotted Kogoro-san, electrician that belonged from the General Affairs Department.

"Kogoro-san…" she called and moving towards him.

The man gave her a bow and a polite nod, nudging her to continue her inquires.

She smiled a little and continued.

"The lights inside our office were busted. I tried the switches by turning it off and on, but it was still the same. At first I thought were having a black out but when I came down for lunch, it was just our office."

Kogoro-san looked at her for a second before smiling. It earned perplexity on Kaoru's part.

"Boss-san…" Kogoro said but not to her. He was looking at the direction behind her, "Should I now turn on the lights?"

Now she was really confused. Did he mean that the lights were not busted because somebody had asked Kogoro-san to _intentionally_turn off the lights?

Wanting her puzzled mind to clear any confusion, she turned her back to where Kogoro-san was looking at.

She saw a man reading a newspaper and that paper material was covering her view of the man's face. But that man didn't disappoint her because he let his newspaper down and for the umpteenth time, surprises always reveal a handsome red head man.

His face was plastered with that gorgeous smile as she looked at her, and then turned her gaze to Kogoro-san.

"Well, she finally came down for lunch so you can put it back to normal…" he said and proceeded to read his newspaper.

The only thing that Kaoru could do was to gape at him. So, it meant that the one behind the intentional busting of lights was her handsome boss and the most shocking truth was he did it so she would come down for lunch!

She didn't know if he was really persistent or just plain sweet, or maybe both. But whatever it was, it certainly made Kaoru's heart to palpitate a little faster and her cheeks feel warm.

She stood there like a statue, still gaping at his busy-reading-the-newspaper form and the only thing that she could acknowledge, and made her cheeks burned a little more, was Misao's obvious giggling.

* * *

The lower part of her chest was starting to hurt because of Misao's nudging. Since the little event in the cafeteria, the bouncy girl never left her side and never stopped teasing her, of course accompanied with a lot of questions.

"Are you sure that you and Himura-san didn't have any kind of relationship?" she said again, emphasizing the word "relationship".

"Misao! I told you for the millionth time, we don't have any kind of relationship. Especially the one you are hinting at…"

Misao looked at her with a sheepish smile.

"Just what do you think I am accusing you of?"

Kaoru sighed.

"Misao, I know that you know that I have a boyfriend. So stop pairing me with Ken—I mean, Himura-san." She coughed at her slip. "It's rude."

If possible, Misao just smiled wilder.

"Alright, alright. Whatever you said Kaoru-chan." She said with a snicker and an obvious sly grin on her face.

"Mou…" she said as she watched the bouncy girl leave her and return to her post.

This is why it was a hassle to be friends with her boss. A little concern over either of each party will create issues inside the office. Although she knew that Misao won't gossip it to anyone, it was still uncomfortable because not all people are like Misao and that not all people have the tendency to scatter rude gossip.

News of the month: Newly hired secretary, Kamiya Kaoru is having an affair with a very rich, very handsome CEO of the company.

Kaoru shivered at the imagination of her being the main topic of a horrible and very showbiz gossip.

But of course, the event hasn't –or if it ever did- gain any problems _yet_, so the best thing to do is to avoid anything happening like that again and focus on the work at hand.

Sitting herself once again on her desk chair, Kaoru cleared her mind and focused it back at the pile of papers and folders residing over her table.

For the past thirty-five minutes, Kaoru was so preoccupied with her work that she had almost forgotten what had happened down at the cafeteria. Almost, because the event and the warm feeling were gladly returning back every time she and Kenshin met each others gazes.

Still, Kaoru abruptly shoved any related feelings away thinking about the gossip that can spread and any hint of unfaithfulness to Enishi.

She was encoding her documents when she crossed her legs under her table and bumped something with her knee.

Of course, she looked under and saw a box full with encoded documents. She didn't know where those came from because first of all, they weren't her documents but their contractual encoders' documents and secondly, she didn't have that big an amount of documents to encode.

"Maybe the new janitor has mistaken this as mine…" she murmured to herself and after a few moments of thinking, she decided to get it and put it at the storage room.

The box was a little heavy but she didn't study kendo for twelve years for nothing. Of course those back breaking moments didn't teach her to give up on simple task like carrying big heavy boxes.

So with one big box occupying both of her hands, Kaoru walk gracefully to where Misao was.

"Misao-chan…"

Misao craned her neck up to see the person who was calling her but instead of seeing a face, all she saw was brown wall. Just before she can react, a face peeked from the corner of that brown wall.

"Kaoru-chan!"

Kaoru smiled. "Ne Misao-chan, can you tell me where the storage room is?"

Misao's gaze turned to her, then to the brown thing (where she later realized was a box) then back to her.

"Are you… going there, with that?" she asked.

"Actually, I will." She responded and gave her a grin.

Misao frowned and extend her arm to pick the phone.

"You should not do it yourself…" she started to dial onto the phone. "Here, let me call Megure-san to do it for you…"

Before Misao, can push the button of the last number, Kaoru had already put the whole weight of the box on her left arm and knee to extend her other hand and stop Misao from completing her phone call.

"Please, Misao-chan, I can handle it. Megure-san might be busy and…" she looked at the box, "I really can handle it…"

With Kaoru's smile and natural charm, Misao sighed and waved her hand.

"Fine fine. It's not like you'll listen to me anyway…" she said giving her a grin.

Kaoru returned the grin and listened as Misao told her where the storage room was.

When the questioning and little chatting was done, Kaoru left Misao in her post.

_She really is something…_She thought with a smile as she watched Kaoru disappear in the room.

* * *

"Hmm… Two floors down and the big room in the left corner…" she said to herself while looking for the room.

Finally she spotted it, there's a little problem though, with her hands both occupied with the heavy box, how should she open the heavy door?

Well, why not do the thing she did earlier with Misao?

Balancing the box with her knee and arm, she reached for the knob to push it open. But the darn door was so darn heavy! Keeping her foot elevated from the ground made her feel numb, not to mention, the small space her skimpy skirt left for her.

And after certain circumstances, Kaoru's leg can't take it anymore and she lost her balance. Luckily, an arm caught her waist to steady her onto the ground.

She found herself startled with the happenings and was currently leaning into someone's chest.

She didn't looked back at that someone for a some moment because she had a strong feeling of who this person was, then when she looked back, she was damn right.

"Himura-san…" she said.

Kenshin gave her a smile and steady her on to her feet. He also grabbed the box from her hand.

"Why do I have the feeling that you are expecting me?" he teased with a smile that is so charming.

"Well… You always come by and surprise me…" she responded looking away and feeling herself flush.

"I am not…" he said with a little tease in his voice. When he saw that she will not argue, he pushed further.

"Why are you carrying this heavy box anyway?"

Kaoru looked at him and tried to snatch the box but he playfully shoved it into the other side, out of her reach. She bit her lip and cross her arms over her chest as a repeat of her earlier action.

Kenshin smiled.

"Hmmm… Let me guess… This should be put into the storage room and Misao suggested that you let Megure-san to do it for you. But you abruptly decline saying that you can do it yourself. So that's the reason why you are here. Am I right Miss Kaoru?"

She didn't say a thing and kept her stubborn demeanor. At least she knew how her boss had suddenly appeared here. It was because Misao had told him. But why did he have to come for her aide? And what about the scene in the cafeteria?

Kenshin was a little worried about the lack of response of his companion. He didn't know if following her was a bad idea. Maybe Miss Kaoru didn't want to have a nosy person like him lurking around her, but he couldn't help himself. Something about her attracted him like a magnet.

So, deciding to end this little situation at hand for Miss Kaoru seemed to be uncomfortable, he adjusted his hold onto the box and moved forward.

"Miss Kaoru, if you don't mind, can you open the door for me?"

And like a usual routine, he smiled and she blushed.

_Stupid, stupid hormones._

* * *

They stepped inside the room and the door closed with soft _click_. Kaoru looked at it for a second and back to the man that she was denying having any attractions to.

She watched that man as he found his way to the depths of the room.

Despite the jumpy and uneasy feeling she felt towards him, she couldn't help but admit that he was really very lovely to watch.

After hustling and bustling to have an appropriate place of the box in the storage room, Kenshin clapped his hand together and straightened his back. He turned his gaze back to her and smiled.

"It's done…" he said but the only reply he got was a whispered 'thank you'. Kenshin frowned. Whatever instinct that was pushing him to do these things for Miss Kaoru should be put to a stop because the bubbly and enthusiastic lady he knew was replaced by a very uneasy and a very quiet girl.

"We should go now…" he murmured.

Kaoru turned her back to him and clutch the door knob to open it but…

"Eh?"

Kenshin looked at her. "Hmm? What?"

Kaoru didn't answer him just yet because she kept on twisting the door knob, but after few more attempts, the inevitable had come.

"Miss Kaoru...?" he called again but this time, she looked back that to his surprise, had a little worry in her eyes.

"Kenshin… It's stuck…"

* * *

_Not much right? Still, I hope you liked it! So just a preview for the next chapter. Something will be revealed about Kenshin in regarding with his past love that I am sure a lot of you had guess who she was! :) And an interaction between Enishi and Kenshin. Hope it excites you!_

_Don't be shy and click the REVIEW button down there!_

_Thank you for Violet aka Sumiregusa for beta-reading my story. Thanks chick!_

_-Hislips_


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